You may think that your name is long, but what is the longest name in the world? You may be surprised by just how long it actually is. The leading authority in world records is Guinness World Records. This organization maintains a record of the longest names in history.
The longest name in the world, according to the Guinness World Records, belongs to a man with 26 first names, one for each letter of the alphabet. His last name is 597 characters long. The shortened version of his name was Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr., or Mr. Wolfe.
The actual name was: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum Sr.
Another reliable reference published Mr. Wolfe’s surname at 666 characters in length. Because of its great length, the name was very often misspelled. There are many different spellings of it throughout his recorded life. So, what exactly is the story behind Mr. Wolfe’s world record name?
World Record for Longest Name
Hubert Wolfe’s full name set a Guinness World Record by having 747 characters, which is unheard of for almost anyone outside Wolfe’s life. In the US, the average surname is six characters long. This is quite a ways off from Wolfe’s 597.
Due to the length, there are various spellings of Wolfe’s last name. Writers, journalists, and record keepers kept getting it wrong. In the early- to mid-twentieth century, typos were not so easily fixed. The length changes by a few hundred characters based on the source. The 747 character name is what was recorded by Guinness World Records.
The Guinness World Records organization prevents people from frivolously taking Wolfe’s title for the world’s longest name by disallowing new entries. This keeps anyone from simply taking a trip to the courthouse and submitting a name change request to usurp the record.
Was Wolfe’s Long Name His Real Name?
Wolfe was born in Bergedorf, Germany, and died at the age of 83 in Philadelphia. According to a 1964 issue of the Tuscaloosa Newspaper, his name is from out of this world.
The short version of the news article states that Wolfe said his name comes from his ancestors who traveled from another planet searching for a place to call home, which ended up being Earth. His interstellar story has always been hard to believe.
Since Wolfe has passed away, it is impossible to get his side of the story.
- Did the newspaper take his words out of context?
- Did Wolfe craft his name to ensure he gained fame?
- Was Wolfe’s goal to have the longest name in the world?
- Is Wolfe’s lineage from outer space?
Whatever the truth, there is no denying that Hubert Wolfe has the longest name on record. Regardless of how his name came to be, it lives on in the Guinness World Records books as the longest name in history and will remain that way.
Read more: 219 Long Boy Names or 324 Long Girl Names
What is the Longest First Name in the World?
There is another Guinness World Record holder with a “longest name” record. While Wolfe holds the title for longest name, period, a woman holds a similar title with a first name that is over 1,000 characters long. Reasonably, she goes by her nickname Jamie and her last name Williams.
The actual name: Rhoshandiatellyneshiaunneveshenkescianneshaimondrischlyndasaccarnaerenquellenendrasamecashaunettethalemeicoleshiwhalhinive’onchellecaundenesheaalausondrilynnejeanetrimyranaekuesaundrilynnezekeriakenvaunetradevonneyavondalatarneskcaevontaepreonkeinesceellaviavelzadawnefriendsettajessicannelesciajoyvaelloydietteyvettesparklenesceaundrieaquenttaekatilyaevea’shauwneoraliaevaekizzieshiyjuanewandalecciannereneitheliapreciousnesceverroneccaloveliatyronevekacarrionnehenriettaescecleonpatrarutheliacharsalynnmeokcamonaeloiesalynnecsiannemerciadellesciaustillaparissalondonveshadenequamonecaalexetiozetiaquaniaenglaundneshiafrancethosharomeshaunnehawaineakowethauandavernellchishankcarlinaaddoneillesciachristondrafawndrealaotrelleoctavionnemiariasarahtashabnequckagailenaxeteshiataharadaponsadeloriakoentescacraigneckadellanierstellavonnemyiatangoneshiadianacorvettinagodtawndrashirlenescekilokoneyasharrontannamyantoniaaquinettesequioadaurilessiaquatandamerceddiamaebellecescajamesauwnneltomecapolotyoajohnyaetheodoradilcyanaKoyaanisqatsiuthawyhaiashieakhauwnne Williams
It might seem like a 1,000 character name is quite a bit to say all at once, but if it is broken down into segments, saying Jamie’s name is more manageable. Everyone is entitled to their own name, even the very long ones. It is important that a person does not lose their name simply because others cannot say it.
Why Is Jamie’s Name so Long?
Her unique name allowed Jamie to tell her story to the world on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997. Her mother wanted to ensure that she had a unique name filled with her favorite things, so she included all of these in Jamie’s full first name.
Jamie’s name includes some of her mother’s favorite
- Places: France is included.
- Terms: “Love” and “friends” are included.
- Family members’ names
Jamie’s mother named her this long name in order to get her into the world record books, as she stated to Oprah Winfrey on the talk show. Clearly, her goal was successful.
An interesting fact is that Jamie’s birth certificate had to be custom-made since it was over two feet long. Depending on the state, certain restrictions are put in place to prevent names like Jamie’s. However, there are no federal restrictions on name length.
Read more: How Many Names Are There In The World?
Longest Name of A Person Alive Today
After Wolfe’s death in 1997, a few people inherited the title of the longest name for a living person. The person with the longest name living today is Dawn McManus. Unlike the other people in this article, she got her name changed later in life to a name made up of 161 separate words. Some of those words are names, and some are just words.
The actual name: Red Wacky League Antlez Broke the Stereo Neon Tide Bring Back Honesty Coalition Feedback Hand of Aces Keep Going Captain Let’s Pretend Lost State of Dance Paper Taxis Lunar Road Up Down Strange All and I Neon Sheep Eve Hornby Faye Bradley AJ Wilde Michael Rice Dion Watts Matthew Appleyard John Ashurst Lauren Swales Zoe Angus Jaspreet Singh Emma Matthews Nicola Brown Leanne Pickering Victoria Davies Rachel Burnside Gil Parker Freya Watson Alisha Watts James Pearson Jacob Sotheran Darley Beth Lowery Jasmine Hewitt Chloe Gibson Molly Farquhar Lewis Murphy Abbie Coulson Nick Davies Harvey Parker Kyran Williamson Michael Anderson Bethany Murray Sophie Hamilton Amy Wilkins Emma Simpson Liam Wales Jacob Bartram Alex Hooks Rebecca Miller Caitlin Miller Sean McCloskey Dominic Parker Abbey Sharpe Elena Larkin Rebecca Simpson Nick Dixon Abbie Farrelly Liam Grieves Casey Smith Liam Downing Ben Wignall Elizabeth Hann Danielle Walker Lauren Glen James Johnson Ben Ervine Kate Burton James Hudson Daniel Mayes Matthew Kitching Josh Bennett Evolution Dreams
McManus was not born with her unique name. You may wonder what made her decide to change her name to something so long and unusual. She changed her name to get attention for her charity, Red Dreams. Both of the title words from her charity are included in her name.
McManus’s act of changing her name helped put her in the spotlight and allowed her charity to grow. This was her goal, so the name change was a success. If there is a good reason to change a name, developing the creative minds of the young is an excellent reason.
Red Dreams Is in the Name
Red Dreams is McManus’s charity that promotes the development of creativity in young people in a variety of genres, from singing, writing, filmmaking, or pretty much anything to help children creatively express themselves.
Red Dreams is a charity to help develop creativity in children ages 11 through 19. She changed her name to such a unique and interesting long name to boldly show others that they can express creativity in their lives however they want. McManus set up the charity in memory of her son Kyle after his death.
Are There Limits to How Long a Name Can Be?
Because there is no federal legal limit to how long a name can be, parents can essentially name their children whatever they want. Changing your name legally is a bit trickier since a judge would need to sign off on your name change. The judge could technically deny your name change if they feel it is a foolish choice.
Because everything is computerized these days, it would be difficult to express an outrageously long name in a digital format. There are limits to how many characters things can be when saved digitally.
Other Memorable Names
Names do not have to be lengthy to achieve world-record status. Below are some names that have made it into history for one reason or another.
- The first surviving name is Sekhen, which dates back to 3050 BC Egypt.
- To the internet’s dismay, Elon Musk and Grimes (Claire Boucher) named their baby X Æ A-12 in 2020.
- A cat named Nedjem, meaning “sweet,” was believed to be the first-named cat back in 1479 BC.
Read more: Most Common Name in The World
Conclusion
The leading authority of world records Guinness World Records is responsible for recording unique things such as the world’s longest names. The world’s longest name was Hubert Wolfe’s full name, which included a total of 26 first names and a 597 character last name. Some sources said his last name alone was 666 characters.
The person with the longest first name in the Guinness World Records is Jamie Williams, who has a first name with over 1,000 characters. According to a 1997 interview on the Oprah Winfrey show, her mother did this on purpose to get her daughter into the record books.
